Luge athlete Keshavan will not compete under the Indian flag in Sochi.

India's athletes lost all hope on Wednesday of competing under the national flag at the Winter Olympics after the country's suspended Olympic association said it would hold elections two days after the Games open in Sochi.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will hold a poll to elect new leaders on February 9, a senior source told AFP, meaning luge medal hope Shiva Keshavan and three other competitors will be classed as independents, not as Indians.

India's athletes lost all hope on Wednesday of competing under the national flag at the Winter Olympics after the country's suspended Olympic association said it would hold elections two days after the Games open in Sochi.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will hold a poll to elect new leaders on February 9, a senior source told AFP, meaning luge medal hope Shiva Keshavan and three other competitors will be classed as independents, not as Indians.

India's athletes lost all hope on Wednesday of competing under the national flag at the Winter Olympics after the country's suspended Olympic association said it would hold elections two days after the Games open in Sochi.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will hold a poll to elect new leaders on February 9, a senior source told AFP, meaning luge medal hope Shiva Keshavan and three other competitors will be classed as independents, not as Indians.

India's athletes "lost all hope" on Wednesday of competing under the national flag at the Winter Olympics after the Indian Olympic Association said that "it would hold elections two days after the Games open in Sochi," according to the AFP. A senior official said that the IOA will hold a poll to elect new leaders on Feb. 9, "meaning luge medal hope Shiva Keshavan and three other competitors will be classed as independents, not as Indians." A "furious Keshavan, preparing abroad for his fifth Winter Olympics that open on February 7," said that not being able to compete under the national flag was "shameful and pathetic." The IOA source said holding the elections before the Games would have "created complications" (AFP, 1/8). The PTI reported Keshavan feels that the humiliation of competing under the IOC flag at next month's Sochi Games would be a reminder of the "scourge of corruption" that has denied the country's athletes a chance to hoist the tri-color at the quadrennial event. Indian athletes who have qualified for Sochi, including Keshavan, "would be forced to compete under the IOC flag due to the IOA's continued suspension from the Olympic movement" (PTI, 1/8).
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IOC President Thomas Bach will meet in two weeks with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and organizers of Rio's 2016 Olympics "to remind them there is no time to waste as they prepare for South America's first Games," according to the AFP. Rio organizers said on Tuesday that "Bach would meet Rousseff on January 21 in the capital Brasilia." The IOC "has expressed concerns about the pace of building, particularly for the main Olympic Park and a smaller venue area in north Rio." Also, organizers "have yet to announce an operating budget, local sponsorship sales appear to be lagging and pollution is a major problem in waters that will host Olympic events." Olympic officials are worried that "many of the problems surrounding this year's World Cup in Brazil will also plague the Olympics." Bach said, "The purpose is to ensure seamless cooperation between all stakeholders and to tell the Brazilian authorities the IOC is fully committed to the success of these Games" (AAP, 1/7).

German Athletics Federation (DLV) President Clemens Prokop said that Olympic Games "should be awarded to countries and not to cities any more," according to the BR. The "role model for this idea is the FIFA World Cup, which always has been awarded to entire countries." Prokop said that "especially in Germany, decentralized Games would make an Olympic bid more realistic." Germany "has top-notch venues for basically every sport." The track and field events could take place in Berlin, the equestrian competitions in Aachen, the triathlon in Hamburg and the whitewater events in Augsburg. Decentralized Games "also require less construction." In addition, it "would save costs and guarantee a sustainable continued usage of the competition venues" (BR, 1/8).

Vancouver has seen plenty of benefits from the $7B invested into the 2010 Olympics.

Few cities "have been able to transform an Olympics, whether Summer or Winter, into a commercial, sporting and tourism success," according to Luis Ramírez of LA AFICION. The "key is found in the legacy: how transportation improvements and construction can help the Olympics improve business in an area." This is something that Vancouver "appears to have achieved when it hosted the Winter Olympics" in '10. Vancouver Tourism President Rick Antonson said, "One of the most important questions before the Olympics was how the government, private sector and the community would work together long-term. The infrastructure, not only the construction, but also the means of communication, were created to give better movement between the zones where the Games were held." The direct cost of money contributed to Vancouver's hosting of the event included $110M designated to "help maintain facilities in Whistler and Richmond for 30 years." Antonson: "One of the things Vancouver residents are proud of is that funds were used reasonably and left a legacy. Financing came from local sources, the government and from a private initiative." The Richmond Oval -- the site of speed skating during the Olympics -- became one of the best examples of the event's legacy. Now it is a "community sports center, but also a high-performance training facility for athletes." The construction of the Richmond Oval "also helped create a residential zone, as condominiums and offices now surround an area that was previously scarcely occupied." There "have been similar effects in Whistler," where facilities built for the Games are now "tourist attractions and recreational sports centers." Various studies "estimate that the final cost of the Vancouver Olympics reached $7B, but those same studies indicated that the people of Vancouver have been satisfied with the results" (LA AFICION, 1/8).